In a conventional glass sheet handling system including a roller conveyor, a glass sheet is received by a topside transfer platen which includes a downwardly facing surface for receiving a glass sheet prior to release onto a glass sheet shaping tool such as a ring mold used for forming the glass sheet. The glass sheet is supported on the topside transfer platen by vacuum pressure on the topside transfer platen prior to being deposited onto the mold. Pressurized gas is used to prevent surface to surface contact and to assist in conveying the glass sheet. Inertia of the glass sheet moving on the roller conveyer provides movement of the glass sheet supported on the topside transfer platen into engagement with a suitable mechanical stop mounted on the topside transfer platen. The pressurized gas stream can be inclined to assist the inertia in conveying the glass sheet to engagement with the mechanical stop. A back gate assembly is moved into position at the upstream end of the glass sheet to prevent it from bouncing off the mechanical stop. With the glass sheet so positioned, the vacuum drawn by the transfer platen is terminated and the glass sheet is deposited on the ring mold below the topside transfer platen. This alignment process results in less than accurate registration of the glass sheet on the forming mold.
In another glass processing system utilizing the topside transfer platen, the ring mold has vertically movable glass sheet locators mounted thereon. These locators can be raised to catch the glass sheet as it moves along the topside transfer platen and subsequently lowered simultaneously with the termination of vacuum to position the glass sheet on the mold for forming. Molds having these glass sheet locators have notches cut into the mold surface for placing of the locators to provide the most accurate placement of the glass sheet on the mold. These notches however reduce the strength of the mold and frequently chip edges of the glass sheet formed on these molds.